Tag: SLP

How much spare change do you have laying around at home? In jars, on top of the dryer, on the nightstand, maybe in the bathroom…you know you have it. Sometimes, it is not very much. Other times, it’s enough for a Dr. Pepper and vanilla ice cream cone at Sonic during Happy Hour…completely hypothetical! Why not use that spare change at the bottom of your purse to encourage your little one’s language skills? Not we are not talking, toddler age. They are still putting too many foreign objects in their mouths. But your preschooler? Ideal for this activity! Here are some ways to use coins to enrich language!

Tips for Using Coins for Language Skills

Basic Sorting: Early categorizing skills can be reinforced here! Sort quarters and pennies for the easiest task. For a little more challenging task, have him separate nickels and dimes. Use the quarters to teach “big,” and the dimes to teach “little” if you are sorting those.

Coin Value: It’s never too early too teach the value of coins. Consistently reviewing it will only help when it comes time for them to start school. They will be one step ahead in math when this concept comes around!

Basic Comparing: Lay out some change and ask your child to build towers with the coins. Stack all the quarters in one tower. All the nickels in another, and so on. Then, talk about which stack is the tallest, shortest, which are the same. Instead of stacking the coins, your child can line the coins up. Afterwards, talk about which line is longer, shorter, etc. Group coins together and work on concepts like “more,” “most,” “less,” “few,” and “same.”

Presidents: No, your child does not know George or Abe. But they can! Little ones are like sponges. They soak up everything we say! If you don’t believe me, stay something negative about a family member in front of your child. Then, see how many shades of red you turn when sweet little Susie repeats that same comment to the said family member! SPONGES!! Talk about who is on the quarter, nickel, dime and penny. Maybe even find a cute book about one of them on Amazon.

So, I’ve given you my tips on how to coins to encourage your child’s language skills. Nothing fancy. Nothing expensive. Just plain old coins that sit in the console of your car, forgotten.

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During Presidents week, I modify my speech therapy lessons so that I can use {ALMOST} the same theme all week long. I connect presidents to money for my younger clients. For my older clients, we talk about presidents and money. The little ones don’t quite understand elections, voting and Presidents. But they know what money is! So using money makes it a little easier to talk about presidents. The older clients that are in school talk about all the election and voting stuff…which saves me from explaining it during my speech therapy sessions.

Books

“Duck for President” by Doreen Cornin is definitely a favorite! The kids recognize Duck from the other story I read during my farm theme (“Click Clack Moo: Cows that Type”). This is the story of Duck climbing his way to the top of the leadership ladder. But as President, Duck realizes life was easier on the farm.

The other picture book I like to use is “A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln.” This book is better for elementary kiddos who have at least heard of Abraham Lincoln and know a little about him. It is a simplified story of his life.

Now, since I work with a lot of preschool clients, neither of these books are appropriate for them. So, I made an interactive book about money that is simple. I like to use it for matching and answering simple “what” questions. The book comes with a sorting activity (quarters and pennies) and a spatial concept booklet for the kids to make. You can also find another simple book in my TpT store as a freebie. “Copper Penny, Copper Penny” is a simple text booklet that follows the rhythm of “Brown Bear.” It also can be used to introduce coin amounts in the simplest form.

I have a toy similar to this one below. The kids love it! We can work on the concepts “in” and “out,” requesting “more” and “open,” colors, animals and following direction…just to name a few targets.

The last activity I am sharing with you today is the cherry tree craft. All you need is a brown lunch sack, green construction paper and this freebie of cherries! Print the cherries on red paper or have the students color them red…totally up to you! Write target words on the cherries. As the student says a word correctly 5x, he can place (NOT GLUE) the cherry on the tree. After all the words have been said, take the cherries off and place them inside the bag. Instant homework!!

What other activities do you like to celebrate President’s Day?

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Every year, I always have leftover Valentine cards. There’s 20 kids in the class but the Valentine card companies package the cards in quantities of 32. I’m pretty sure it’s a conspiracy of some sort but I digress. Anyway, what should you do with those leftover cards? I have some ideas for you! That’s code for easy tips for speech therapy in the home, moms!!!

Ideas for Speech Therapy Home Practice

Articulation: Is your little one working on beginning /k/ words? Write some of those words on the extra valentines. Place them in a bag, basket, bucket, etc so that your child can pull the cards out and practice the words. Easy enough!

Describing: Use the card as it and have your child use describing words to tell about the picture/character. For older kids, write different household objects on the card and have them describe the object.

Spatial Concepts: Take some of the valentines and “hide” them in a room. Have your child find each card and tell you where they found them using position words. For example, if you put one under the coffee table, the child should use “under” in his sentence.

Sorting: Whether you have one box or 4, have your child work on sorting skills. Tear the cards apart and group them according to the picture.

These are just a few ideas for parents out there. I often have parents ask me what types of activities they can do in the home to carryover the skills. My answer is always “KEEP IT SIMPLE!” Families are busy with different schedules, homework and other obligations. You also need to keep it cheap! There is no need for parents to spend a ton of money on activities. Use everyday objects and routines to enhance your child’s speech and language skills!

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This week, we are all about hearts, pink, red and love in speech therapy! I have a few different books that I use in speech therapy during this week. There are so many great ones out there so it’s hard to pick just one! I can’t pick just one activity to use either. I have several that I enjoy using in therapy. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw the idea I posted a few days ago about using the adorable felt envelopes from our favorite dollar bin too. Keep reading to see more ideas!

Valentine Books for Speech Therapy

Years ago, I worked with a diagnostician that was once a kindergarten teacher. Even though she had been out of the classroom for many years, she kept all of her books and activities. That’s where my favorite Valentine book came from! She brought this adorable little book for me to use in speech therapy sessions at the kinder/Pre-K level. I instantly fell in love with it!

The copy I have is called “Four Valentines in a Rainstorm.” Now it is called “The Day It Rained Hearts.” This is such a cute little book about a girl who catches some hearts in the rain. She uses the hearts to make Valentines for her friends. Each one is specifically designed just them.

Here are the craft activities I used for this book. One is for articulation while the other was using for kiddos working on verbs.

Speech Therapy Activities

There are TONS of fun activities on TpT!!! SLP Tree has an adorable activity for grammar! “Bad Grammar Valentines” works on discovering the grammar mistakes in Valentines and correcting them. I have been using this game for a couple of years. The kids enjoy it and forget they are working!!! Small Talk SLP has another great activity that I use with my older elementary clients. It is a critical thinking activity that gives a profile of an imaginary character. The student must use the clues to choose the right valentine for the character.

My store has two sets to help plan your Valentine therapy. There is a quick print articulation packet that includes open ended activities and a craftivity! The other set is good for your preschool clients. It includes an interactive book, make & take spatial concept book (good for elementary!!) and a sorting activity (works on big and little).

What activities do you use for Valentine’s Day?

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Last month, I brought you my favorite chicken enchilada recipe. Today, I am switching gears for this month’s SLP eats. This past fall, my husband decided a vegan diet was the best bet for his health. My kids and I did not immediately jump on the bandwagon. Let’s face it…if forced to live on bread and cheese, I could do it! I love my REAL cheese way too much! However, we did give a try during Christmas break with a few dinner recipes. It wasn’t too bad (but still added my real cheese!) and I did notice that I lost a few extra pounds. I wasn’t trying to lose weight but when you cut out the food I live on as a traveling SLP (aka fast food), it happened. So here is one of our new favorite recipes that is very healthy unless you add the real mozzarella cheese!!!

SLP MOM APPROVED LASAGNA SOUP

Let me start by saying this soup is DELICIOUS! I make it just as it is written in this blog post, BUT I cook it in my pressure cooker. I found the sweet spot for this one is 8 minutes on high pressure. Some posts recommend 5-6 minutes but that is for a regular soup. The lentils do not cook thoroughly at 5-6 minutes.

This soup hits the spot, especially on a freezing day of therapy visits. The kids and I add some mozzarella cheese (which makes it not vegan!) and some garlic bread. My favorite part is walking into my kitchen and smelling the basil and oregano cooking…yum!

So, what’s for dinner at your house?

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Hello there! You've found the Speech Chick! I am a red head from Texas that loves speech therapy, crafting, pizza, tacos, chips and dip, Converse, the color pink, sparkles, basketball, and most of all, my family! Make sure you check out my blog and subscribe to the newsletter!